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Saturday, November 1, 2014

Interview with Award-winning author Annie Tipton

About the Author

Award-winning
author Annie Tipton made up her first story at the ripe old age of two when she
asked her mom to write it down for her. (Hey, she was just two—she didn’t know
how to make letters yet!) Since then she has read and written many words as a
student, newspaper reporter, author, and editor. A native of Wooster, Ohio,
Tipton received a bachelor’s degree in Communications at Milligan
College in Northeast Tennessee. She currently resides in New Philadelphia,
Ohio.

This is the final book in your Diary of a Real Payne
series. How has the main character, EJ, grown since the series started?

A.From the
beginning of True Story to the end of Oh Baby,more than two years have
passed for EJ and her friends and family. (That’s a long time in a kid’s life!)
Some things for EJ have stayed the same—she’s still in boring old Spooner,
Wisconsin, she’s still having extremely vivid daydreams, and Isaac is still The
Space Invader. But lots of things have changed—EJ survived a less-than-awesome
fourth grade in Ms. P’s class, she got to go to her first full week of church
camp, and the BIGGEST change in book 3 is that there’s a new little Payne who
has joined the family, EJ’s adopted baby sister, Faith. As far as growth, the
almost-12-year-old EJ in Oh Baby is more confident than ever that God
has equipped her to do big things. She knows He’s in control, and she’s ready
to try new things and take on more responsibility—like her very first time
babysitting her little sister.

Of the three books in this series, which one was your
favorite book to write?

A.At the end of
writing each book, I would say that it [entire series] was my favorite! But I
definitely laughed out loud the most while writing book 3, Oh Baby. Some of the situations EJ gets herself in are just so
funny, and a lot of them are based on some events that actually happened to me.
There’s a chapter titled ”Splash Guard” where Isaac dresses up like a superhero
with some. . .unconventional. . .costume choices. My little brother did something
very similar when he was about Isaac’s age, and my family still laughs about
it.In the final book, Oh Baby, are any new characters introduced or will past
characters reappear for the finale?

One new character is Faith, the Paynes’ adopted
baby. She is great and she really adds a lot to the family dynamic. Other
than that, most of the main characters are readers’ favorites: the rest of
the Payne family (including Bert!), Mrs. Winkle, Mr. Johnson, EJ’s best
friend, Macy, and even CoraLee McCallister is back! There are some fun new
minor characters, too—from shop owners in Spooner to EJ’s dentist, Dr.
Molnar. These minor characters really add a lot of fun and color to the
story!

Was there a certain character you enjoyed writing about?

I love being in EJ’s brain and writing her diary
entries, and I really enjoy writing scenes between CoraLee and EJ. But my
favorite character to write has always been Isaac. He is such a
stereotypical little brother (at least in my experience with little
brothers) and he adds a lot of excitement and humor to every scene he’s
in. You just never know what he’s going to do!

Writing just one novel is a challenge for most people.
How did you manage to stay focused and to finish writing an entire series?

It took more discipline than I ever could’ve
imagined! My deadlines were spaced six months apart, and I would spend
time brainstorming and outlining each book before I wrote it, but I
completed the actual writing of all 45,000-ish words per book in about six
to eight weeks so that I could put all of my efforts and concentration on
living in EJ’s world (at least in my head). I would work my day job (an
editor at Barbour Publishing) and then leave work at 5 pm and drive
straight to the library or the coffee shop most days of the week where I
would write write write until 8:30 or 9. My word count goal for every day
was 1,000 words. Some days I wrote more, but I always tried my hardest to
write at least 1,000. It was HARD WORK but very rewarding, too.

What advice would you give someone who is trying to
become an author?

Write what you want to write! You have to be
passionate about what it is you’re creating, so write what you love and
what you know. Set goals for yourself and just do it!

The Payne family has just adopted a
roly-poly package of pudge with bright eyes and a sparkling smile. In true
sisterly fashion, EJ can’t wait to teach baby Faith how to be amazing at
everything (just like her big sis!). But when EJ learns that she’s losing her
role as flower girl to the adorable newcomer in an upcoming wedding, it’s
almost more than she can handle. Who thought a baby sister was a good idea,
anyway?

PLEASE NOTE

*Stories for Children Publishing, LLC. (SFC) and its divisions do not receive any compensation for product reviews beyond a sample and/or limited access to a paid website. SFC donates all books sent for review to a charitable organization. SFC may do a contest or giveaway of samples we receive.